Sixteenth Post: Breaded Chicken with Tortelleni

Perhaps it was because I heard my parents were going to Olive Garden for dinner. Perhaps it's because I've got an open bottle of Merlot screaming for an appropriate dish. Perhaps it's just because I like it. Whatever the reason, I wanted Italian tonight.

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This is a meal that I've altered a bit from my childhood original. My mother learned it from an elderly Italian woman who brought this recipe with her from the Old Country - the original calls for turkey or pork cutlets. However, I had a chicken breast available to me. So I made it work.

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What you'll need for tonight's dinner:

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~ Meat (preferably turkey or pork cutlets) I used one chicken breast cut into strips while it was still partially frozen.

~ Ready-made pasta sauce (of course, the original recipe calls for a home-made pasta sauce learned from this woman from Italy, and let me tell you, if heaven could be created in a pot, it would taste like this sauce. Due to time, I used a ready-made.)

~ Grated cheese (I used Romano)

~ Pasta (I used tortellini)

~ Butter (or margerine)

~ Seasoned bread crumbs

~ Egg

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:: PAUSE ::

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Tortellini is quite possibly the greatest food in existance. You have your noodles, which are pretty great, and cheese, which is quite incredible, and then some genius decided to put the cheese inside the noodle. I'm fairly certain that on that day, the sun shone a little brighter and the world seemed a little happier. Tortellini is perfect by itself, in butter, with herbs, and with pasta sauce. You gotta have a special spot in your heart for these little noodles of cheesey goodness.

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:: UNPAUSE ::

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Start your water boiling. Get out all your ingredients. This is not a meal you want to scramble for. Melt some butter in a stick-free pan. At the same time, have your sauce heating on the stove or in the microwave. To spice up this jarred sauce, I added some cheese, fresh basil, and a little sugar.

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Now, dip your meat in egg and coat in seasoned breadcrumbs. Coat all the pieces, then set them into the sizzling butter on your pan. They will cook pretty quickly.

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Drain and serve your pasta, place some meat with it, and make sure you have ample sauce to dip it in!

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I served tonight's dinner with a Merlot from Mendoza, Argentina. It is fruit-forward and paired beautifully with the salty pasta sauce and the rich, cheesey pasta.

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It's not quite the same as the turkey or pork cutlets, but it certainly fulfilled my desire for Italian! It also shows how versatile this recipe is - try this meal with spaghetti instead of tortellini for a "twist!"

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Yours in the love of good food and wine,
AL

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The blogger is not an experienced chef. She takes no responsibility for the quality of the meals prepared while following her advice. Use your own judgment regarding cooking times and proper food handling.